Making, Not Finding Happiness, is Where It’s At These Days

WWWayWbe WbWay before a world pandemic came on the scene, it was often said that “happiness is to be made not found.” I don’t think I trulyl understood this simple nugget of wisdom until now. I guess, like many of us, we didn’t really live it until now. These days, all of our happiness is homemade. And, as the many VIPs profiled in this edition will attest, self-made happiness is perhaps more fulfilling than the store-bought kind.

For example, our cover model, Actress Alex Meneses, has always loved her job. But 2020 has shown her that stopping everything to spend precious quality time with her young daughter and family is simply the best. And actor, Jan Luis Castellanos, of the hit show 13ReasonsWhy, has a new appreciation for quiet time with a great book that recharges his passions. Even our youngest journalist, Cristina, who misses her friends from school every day, has found that exploring nature for hours with her older sister, Sofia, can be as amazing as third grade recess (before Covid-19 shut down district schools).

Yes, all of us know we can find happiness at Disney World, our favorite neighborhood restaurant, or in the stands of a college football stadium (Go Noles!).

But, thanks to the positive role models featured on these pages, and the staff who worked to find hope on days filled with more questions than answers, we know you’ll be happy to explore this new issue of CATALINA. Because, like all of us here, we know you’re making and finding happiness in these unprecedented times as well. And, just knowing that you are safe and healthy and ready to see what so many of us have eagerly created for you on these pages this month, well, makes me super happy!

“... happiness is to be made not found. ”